ROSALBA ROLÓN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF PREGONES / PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER, IS AWARDED THE 32ndANNUAL DOROTHY AND LILLIAN GISH PRIZE
“It is my desire, by establishing this prize, to give the recipients of the prize the recognition they deserve,
to bring attention to their contributions to society and to encourage others
to follow in their path.”—Lillian Gish
New York, NY, September 16, 2025 — The Gish Prize Trust today announced that the 32nd annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize has been awarded to actress, director, dramaturg, and theater founder Rosalba Rolón, whose traveling repertory company Pregones Theater, now merged with the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and known as Pregones/PRTT, has visited and performed in almost 600 U.S. cities throughout 38 states, as well as in 18 countries.
The Prize, established in 1994 through the will of legendary screen and stage actress Lillian Gish, known as the First Lady of Cinema, is one of the most prestigious honors given to individual artists in the United States and bears one of the largest cash awards, currently valued at more than $250,000.
The Gish Prize is given each year to a highly accomplished figure from any discipline of the arts who has pushed the boundaries of an art form, excelled in their field, and have served as a model and encouragement to the next generation. In the words of Lillian Gish, the annual Prize is intended for an artist or arts advocate “who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life...” The selection committee for the 2025 Gish Prize chose Rosalba Rolón from a field of distinguished finalists across the arts, including visual and performing arts, literature, and beyond. She now joins a list of honorees that in recent years has included Vicky Holt Takamine, Thelma Golden, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Sonia Sanchez, Ava DuVernay, Gustavo Dudamel, Suzan-Lori Parks, Meredith Monk, Spike Lee, Anna Deavere Smith, Maya Lin, Trisha Brown, and Chinua Achebe.
Rosalba Rolón said, “I am deeply moved to receive this recognition, which Lillian Gish established with the understanding that practicing artists can also have leadership roles and foster new generations in the arts. I want to bring light to the fact that this is not just about celebrating me, but also my performing arts family at Pregones/PRTT—multiple and loving generations of it—and the good people in other cities and countries with whom we have meaningfully collaborated in the spirit of live theater and collective belonging. We lift each other up! What a beautiful mission the Gish Prize has, to recognize that in addition to the work we do artistically, we can lead movements and spread ideas that can impact our communities.”
Rolón’s passion for popular street theater and improvised stages and her desire to exchange with a broad range of audiences led her to co-found the touring ensemble Pregones Theater in 1979. Under her guidance, the company’s artistic team of actors, musicians, writers, and designers developed a repertoire that includes musical theater works based on historical events and adaptations of non-theatrical material. In its early years, Pregones Theater traveled throughout New York City’s boroughs and neighboring cities, bringing its repertoire to communities and spaces that had been scarcely reached by Latino theater and stories, eventually venturing on to neighboring states and other countries. Building on this foundation, in 2014, PRTT founder Miriam Colón and Rolón collaborated to merge the two theater companies. Today, Pregones/PRTT champions a single mission under Rolón’s direction at its Bronx and Manhattan theaters, while national and international exchanges continue to deepen and expand.
This year’s Prize selection committee was chaired by Juan José Escalante, Executive Director of Miami City Ballet. Other members of the committee were Firelei Báez, Artist; Susan Feder, President, Amphion Foundation; Rio Sakairi, Artistic Director, The Jazz Gallery; and Shanta Thake, Executive Vice President and Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Juan José Escalante said, "For the first time, the Gish Prize honors a visionary rooted in Puerto Rican art and culture. In unanimously awarding the Prize to Rosalba Rolón, we celebrate not only her lifetime of artistic excellence, but also her profound contributions to an essential thread of the American cultural fabric. Through her passionate collaborations with artists across disciplines and geographies, she exemplifies the spirit of the Gish Prize—enhancing the beauty of the world while advancing a more just and unified society."
The Gish Prize will be officially awarded to Rosalba Rolón at a private celebration in New York City in fall 2025.
J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. is trustee of the Gish Prize Trust.
About The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize
Established in 1994 through the will of Lillian Gish, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize is given annually to an individual who has “made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to [humankind’s] enjoyment and understanding of life.” Past recipients are Thelma Golden, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Sonia Sanchez, Ava DuVernay, Walter Hood, Gustavo Dudamel, Meredith Monk, Elizabeth LeCompte, Suzan-Lori Parks, Maya Lin, Spike Lee, Anna Deavere Smith, Trisha Brown, Chinua Achebe, Pete Seeger, Robert Redford, Laurie Anderson, Shirin Neshat, Peter Sellars, Ornette Coleman, Bill T. Jones, Lloyd Richards, Jennifer Tipton, Merce Cunningham, Arthur Miller, Isabel Allende, Bob Dylan, Robert Wilson, Ingmar Bergman, and Frank Gehry. Prize recipients are nominated by the arts community and chosen by a distinguished committee of arts leaders for their groundbreaking work in their chosen fields. For further information, visit gishprize.org.
About Dorothy and Lillian Gish
Dorothy and Lillian Gish followed their mother onto the stage at an early age. The older of the two sisters, Lillian took her first theatrical curtain call in 1902 at the age of eight in the play In Convict’s Stripes. In 1912, the sisters’ childhood friend Mary Pickford introduced them to D.W. Griffith, who launched their film careers. Lillian would become one of America’s best-loved actresses. In her 85-year career, she appeared in more than 100 films—from Griffith’s An Unseen Enemy (1912) to Lindsay Anderson’s The Whales of August (1987)—and also took numerous roles in television and on stage. Dorothy began her stage career at four and also went on to make more than 100 films, many of them with Lillian. Dorothy’s early work in film highlighted her keen sense of humor, bringing her acclaim as a star of comedy. At the end of the silent era, she turned her attention to the stage, where success in Young Love brought her accolades with New York audiences, on the road and subsequently in London. In 1939 Dorothy and Lillian each played Vinnie Day, wife of Clarence Day, Sr., in two extensive American road company productions of Life with Father. Dorothy returned to film and television in the 1950s. Upon her death in 1968, Dorothy left the bulk of her estate to the arts. Lillian died in 1993 and also left the bulk of her estate to the arts, including a trust for the formation of the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.